The streets were dressed in glitter and gaud. Lights sprinkled on every surface, along with ropes and garlands of green and the bright red of poinsettias. Tanya skipped down the sidewalk, and did a little twirl. "You mustn't watch what I'm buying, now, Charles. It could be for you." And she scooted into The World Biggest Bookstore. Charles and Edda followed, keeping her in sight.
"Tanya, it's almost four thirty," Charles said, eyeing the throng of people filling the store. In the past half hour, the crowd had grown to a pushing, clamoring horde. Charles looked slightly paranoid.
Tanya chattered like a little girl, hugging her gifts to her as they walked toward the parking lot. Edda walked slightly to her right, with Charles preceding. They listened to the Christmas carols, and joined in on Silent Night.
A man jumped out from behind a car and grabbed Tanya around the shoulders. Before she could react, Charles spun around and hit the assailant with a flying kick to his head. The man slammed back against a building wall, then staggered into a rowdy group of revelers. He disappeared.
Charles hailed a cab and pushed Tanya in, then joined her. Edda took off in the direction of the assailant.
"Edda! What about Edda?" Tanya asked as Charles gave directions to the rental house.
"She'll be fine. She has the car keys. She'll just drive home," he replied. His eyes blazing. "I doubt if she'll find him, not in that crowd, but she'll give it a try."
"But what did he hope to achieve? He couldn't have kidnapped me, not with you and Edda there."
"I don't know. Maybe he was drunk… Maybe he just wanted to touch you. We don't know. But one thing is sure: we'd better be careful."
Tanya gasped. "Perhaps it's for the best if we don't come here anymore. Edda may have to finish up my Christmas shopping." She huddled into her coat and scarves and sat back further.
* * *
Malcolm entered his office juggling a pail full of water, a long cleaning brush, a rug, a bag, and three newspapers. He dropped the newspapers onto the coffee table and set everything else on the floor near the fish tank, then went to turn on his new coffee maker.
While the coffee perked, he turned off the heater and filter in his fish tank, then scooped up each fish with a long-handled net. He dropped them, one by one, into the waiting pail of water. He then drained, scraped, and scrubbed the inside of the tank. After a careful rinsing, he covered the bottom with a layer of fine blue gravel and began to refill the tank with water.